Q: I am a Broncos fan who lives near Boston. I listen to a lot of sports radio on my commute to work. (Wednesday) morning there was obvious talk about the Laurence Maroney trade. The morning crew referred to the Broncos organization as a joke. They claim (Josh) McDaniels likes anything that Bill Belichick ever got his hands on. They picked on Josh for wearing the hoodie, for signing Jarvis Green to guaranteed money and then cutting him, for moving up and drafting Tim Tebow, and for (the Maroney) trade. … It made me sick to my stomach to listen to, as does most Patriots talk. But it got me thinking, is this the perception of the Broncos organization throughout the country, and are those thoughts starting to creep into Denver? I like the direction that Josh is taking the team, but I think he just needs some time, which is often a luxury teams can’t afford in the “win-now” NFL.

A: Jason, in my experience the perception of the Broncos — beyond forever being “John Elway’s team” — is usually one of indifference in most cities outside the AFC West. Most fans elsewhere just don’t believe the Broncos are in the league’s elite right now — no playoff trips since 2005, one playoff win in the last 11 seasons.

By contrast, the ’98 Broncos were like rock stars when they arrived in a city. They were the league’s best team with marquee players at every turn. So much so during the 1998 preseason that I wrote a front-page story for the sports section at The Tennessean in Nashville, and the topic was how many plays Elway was going to play in an exhibition game at Vanderbilt the next night.

That’s what it’s like when a team is one of the elite.

The Broncos are fighting their way to get back to that level at a time when there is more commentary than ever on websites, TV, radio and social media (Twitter, Facebook, etc.), so there are plenty of opinions out there.

Within the league, I can say plenty of people from other teams questioned the team’s getting rid of players like Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall and Tony Scheffler on offense and changing defensive coordinators after just one season.

Also, the team’s four first-round picks over the last two drafts (Tebow, Knowshon Moreno, Robert Ayers and Demaryius Thomas) are not yet in position to be the centerpieces they’re going to need to be if the Broncos are going to succeed.

Of the four, Moreno plays the position in which a young player can have the biggest impact the quickest, and he’s still looking for his first 100-yard game. Some general managers don’t believe you can have as many older players in as many spots as the Broncos do, especially on defense, but others throughout the league believe you sign who you think fits what you do on the field and in the locker room.

All of that said, perception is perception and a team’s win-loss record is the reality.

Folks here in Denver certainly want to see more wins. But criticism could certainly pick up in the public domain should Mike Shanahan somehow get the Redskins into the playoff hunt this year with a wafer-thin roster and the Broncos are not there too.

Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson had butterflies before Sunday's game against the Detroit Red Wings. It wasn't because of the big-name opponent, but rather his return from a 13-game injury absence and being stoked to rejoin a team in a playoff push and looking for its third postseason appearance in 10 years.